Olympic Games

The Summer Games are numbered by Olympiad, so there are gaps for the World Wars; the Winter Games are numbered consecutively, so there are no gaps in the numbering.
. Click on the roman numeral to get details of the Games and the corresponding host city selection process. Had he attended the first class, the Mariners would have been unable by Major League Baseball rules to sign him, and no one would have been able to draft him for 2 more years. Only actual host cities are listed. He had even enrolled in classes, but on his way to the first class he met a scout for the Mariners who offered a large signing bonus and he signed ending his college career before it began. The table below gives an overview of all host cities of both the Olympic Summer Games (Games of the Olympiad) and Winter Games. While in high school, Rodriguez had signed a letter of intent with the University to play baseball.

When measuring by the number of titles won at the Modern Olympic Games, the following athletes may be considered the most successful (Intercalated Games are included in Ray Ewry's scores, otherwise he would be placed 10th in the table):. In 2003, Alex Rodriguez gave a $10 million gift to the University of Miami to build a new baseball stadium. This is further complicated since the IOC no longer recognises the Intercalated Games which it originally organised and which most historians do consider as Olympic games. was the previous record holder by reaching 400 home runs at 30 years and 141 days old. The diversity of the sports, and the great differences between the Olympic Games in 1896 and today make it difficult to decide which athlete is the most successful Olympic athlete of all times. Ken Griffey, Jr. Many athletes have become celebrities or heroes in their own country, or even world-wide, after becoming Olympic champion. On June 8th, Rodriguez hit his 400th career home run, becoming the youngest player in Major League history to do so at 29 years and 316 days old.

Because the Olympics are held only once every four years, the public and athletes often consider them as more important and valuable than world championships and other international tournaments, which are often held annually. Alex Rodriguez's salary of $25,705,118 is the highest in Major League Baseball in the 2005 season. Commemorative medals and diplomas — which differ in design from those referred to above — are also made available to participants finishing lower than third and eighth respectively. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the first three were given wreaths as well as their medals. But the umpires huddled and ended up calling him out, which made Jeter return to first base. This action by Rodriguez has given him a bad image, especially among Red Sox fans. Certificates were awarded also at the 1896 Olympics, but there they were awarded in addition to the medals to first and second place. Rodriguez was called safe at first, and Derek Jeter scored from first base. In addition, from 1948 onward athletes placing fourth, fifth and sixth have received certificates which became officially known as "victory diplomas;" since 1976 the medal winners have received these also, and in 1984 victory diplomas for seventh- and eighth-place finishers were added, presumably to ensure that all losing quarterfinalists in events using single-elimination formats would receive diplomas, thus obviating the need for consolation (or officially, "classification") matches to determine fifth through eighth places (though interestingly these latter are still contested in many elimination events anyway). During the 2004 American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox, Alex Rodriguez caused controversey when he "slapped" the baseball out of pitcher Bronson Arroyo's glove when running to first base.

However, the 1904 Olympics also awarded silver trophies for first place, which makes Athens 1906 the first games that awarded the three medals only. 2 spot in the batting order, directly behind Jeter. The practice of awarding medals to the top three competitors was introduced in 1904; at the 1896 Olympics only the first two received a medal, silver and bronze, while various prizes were awarded in 1900. Near the end of the season, Yankees manager Joe Torre moved Rodriguez to the No. In some events contested by a single-elimination tournament (most notably boxing), third place might not be determined, in which case both semi-final losers receive bronze medals. Rodriguez performed well, though average by his standards, in his first season with the Yankees, hitting .286 with 36 home runs and 106 runs batted in, his seventh consecutive season with at least 100 RBI. (Though they used to indeed be of solid gold, they are now actually gilted silver, making the description somewhat inaccurate.) The runners-up receive silver medals, and the third-place athletes bronze medals. There was some speculation as to what his number would be, but in spring training he showed up with uniform number 13, answering the question.

The winners receive what are called "gold medals". He had worn uniform number 3 his entire career, but that number on the Yankees is retired in honor of Babe Ruth. The athletes (or teams) who place first, second, or third receive medals. In addition to moving from shortstop to third, Rodriguez had to make another change upon joining the Yankees. For all events held at the Olympic Games, a classification is made up. After Rodriguez agreed to switch positions and play third base, the deal between New York and Texas was consummated. Main article: Olympic medallists. Since New York already had a star shortstop in team captain Derek Jeter, the trade developed only after New York's third baseman, Aaron Boone, suffered a season-ending knee injury while playing a game of pickup basketball during the off-season.

The 2000 and 2002 Olympics showed that the battle is not nearly over, as several medallists in weightlifting and cross-country skiing were disqualified after doping offences. In the trade, the Rangers will have to pay $67 million of the $179 million left on Rodriguez's contract. In the late 1990s, the IOC took initiative in a more organised battle against doping, leading to the formation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 1999. On February 15, 2004, after a period in which he had been courted by the Boston Red Sox and named as the Rangers' captain, Rodriguez was traded to the New York Yankees for second baseman Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later. In 1990, documents were revealed that showed many East German athletes, especially women, had been administered anabolic steroids and other drugs by their coaches and trainers, as a government policy. He hit .298 with 47 home runs, won his second consecutive Gold Glove Award and was named the league's MVP, despite the Rangers remaining mired in last place. Despite the tests, many athletes used doping without being caught. Rodriguez 's last season with Texas, 2003, was another productive year for A-Rod.

The most publicised doping-related disqualification was that of Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, who won the 100 m at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but tested positive for stanozolol. Although Tejada had lesser numbers than Rodriguez, he played for a championship-caliber team. The Mariners didn't miss him; they won 116 games in their first year without him. More than fifty athletes followed him over the next 34 years, several medal winners among them. Unfortunately, the Rangers made no real improvement in the two years he played there, finishing last both times, and it likely cost him the MVP award in 2002, as he finished second to fellow shortstop Miguel Tejada. The first Olympic athlete to test positive for doping use was Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall, a Swedish pentathlete at the 1968 Summer Olympics, who lost his bronze medal for alcohol use. Despite the enormous pressure carried by the contract, Rodriguez continued to produce, and has been even better than before. He hit 52 home runs in 2001, and followed that up with a major league best 57 home runs in 2002, the most ever for a shortstop. He put a bookend on that year by winning his first Gold Glove Award. In the mid-1960s sports federations put a ban on doping, and the IOC followed suit in 1967. A free agent after the season, Rodriguez, who wanted to go to a Series-caliber team, was immediately rumored to be heading to the Mets because of his appearance at Shea, but instead chose to go to the Texas Rangers (last in their division in 2000), signing what is the largest contract in American sports history, a 10-year contract worth an astounding $252 million. Because of the contract, considered outrageous by many fans, Mariners fans that loved him immediately turned on him for taking the money and running instead of staying with a winner; to this day he's regularly booed every time he returns to Seattle.

As was later established he had been doped with amphetamines. He still made an appearance in the Series, sitting in the stands of Shea Stadium watching his friend Derek Jeter play in that year's all-New York World Series between the Yankees and New York Mets. At the games in Rome the Danish Knut Enemark Jensen fell from his bicycle and died. Winning the AL West in 2000, Rodriguez hit well in the playoffs, but the Mariners lost to the World Series champion New York Yankees in the LCS. As these methods became more extreme, gradually the awareness grew that this was no longer a matter of health through sports. The first olympic death caused by doping occurred in 1960. Rodriguez continued to put up great numbers as the team's remaining superstar, and hit 41 more HR's in 2000 as he hit .316, doing so playing in the best pitcher's park in the AL. For example, the winner of the marathon at the 1904 Games, Thomas Hicks, was given strychnine and brandy by his coach, even during the race. in the past two seasons.

In the early 20th century, many Olympic athletes used drugs to enhance their performance. The Mariners entered 2000 with A-Rod as the cornerstone of the franchise, having dealt superstars Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey, Jr. One of the major problems facing the Olympics (and international sports in general) is doping, or performance enhancing drugs. Despite missing 30+ games with an injury and playing home games at Safeco Field (a considerably less hitter-friendly ballpark than the Kingdome) for the second half of the season, he matched his HR total in 1999. The sizes of these markings are limited. He recovered with authority in 1998 by becoming the 3rd member of the 40 homers/40 stolen bases club, racking up 42 HR and 46 SB. Athletes are only allowed to have the names of clothing and equipment manufacturers on their outfit. He hit for the cycle with them in 1997, but slumped that year with only 23 home runs and a "mere" .300 average; the Mariners nonetheless won the division but were quickly eliminated from the playoffs.

Advertisement regulations are still very strict, at least on the actual playing field, although "Official Olympic Sponsors" are common. Rodriguez was a favorite with Mariners fans. As of 2004, the only sport in which no professionals compete is boxing; in men's football (but not in the women's game) the number of players over 23 years of age is limited to three per team. He came close to being the youngest MVP in baseball history, but fell 3 points short to Juan González; possibly denying him this honor were the two Seattle-area sportswriters who voted for the award, as they gave him 8th and 9th place votes. This switch was perhaps best exemplified by the American Dream Team, composed of well paid NBA stars, which won the Olympic gold medal in basketball in 1992. He took over as the regular shortstop the following year, and immediately became a superstar, hitting 36 home runs and pacing the American League with a .358 batting average, and leading the league in runs, total bases, and doubles; great numbers even by the standards of the Kingdome, one of the American League's best hitter's parks. In the 1980s, amateurism regulations were relaxed, and eventually completely abolished in the 1990s. One of his most important contributions in the playoffs was consoling second baseman Joey Cora, who memorably broke down in tears after the Mariners' loss in the League Championship Series.

Nevertheless, the IOC held on to amateurism. After his major league campaign in 1994 was cut short by the players' strike, he split most of 1995 between Seattle and their AAA club 30 miles away in Tacoma before staying on the major league roster in August, making a pair of postseason appearances on the Mariners' playoff run. For example, many athletes from Eastern European nations were officially employed by the government, but effectively given opportunity to train all day, thereby only being amateurs in name. He made a rapid rise through the organization and made his major league debut at just 18 years of age, becoming one of the youngest players to appear in a game at shortstop. It gradually became clear to many that the amateurism rules had become outdated. His skills were rewarded when the Seattle Mariners made the 17-year old the #1 pick of the amateur draft in 1993. Twenty-four years later, Swiss and Austrian skiers boycotted the 1936 Winter Olympics in support of their skiing teachers, who were not allowed to compete because they were considered to be professionals, earning money with their sport. Rodríguez was a star player at Miami Westminster Christian High School.

1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon champion Jim Thorpe was disqualified when it was discovered that he played semi-professional baseball prior to winning his medals (he was restored by the IOC in 1983). Rodríguez has said in interviews he can forgive his father for abandoning the family, but that he will never forget. This exclusion of professionals has caused several controversies throughout the history of the modern Olympics. There, Alex's father announced he had to go to New York for a short time; he never returned. The exception to this were the fencing instructors, who were indeed expected to be gentlemen. They moved to Miami, Florida 4 years later. As in most cases only amateurs were considered such, professional athletes were not allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. Born in New York City, Rodríguez moved back with his parents to their native Dominican Republic when he was 4.

In Coubertin's vision, athletes should be gentlemen. Less than three weeks later, he was traded to the Yankees, the first reigning MVP to be traded in the history of Major League Baseball. Some demonstration sports, such as baseball and curling were eventually included as full-medal events. Then on January 25, 2004, he was named captain of the Rangers. These sports were sometimes sports only popular in the host nation, but also internationally known sports have been demonstrated. The Players Association blocked the deal, however, because the Red Sox wanted to cut Rodriguez's salary. The objective was for these sports to reach a big audience through the Olympics; the winners of these events are not properly Olympic champions. The following month the Rangers tried unsuccessfully to trade Rodriguez and his hefty salary to the Boston Red Sox.

Until 1992, the Olympics often also featured so-called demonstration sports. It was the second time in MLB history that a player of a team finishing last in the league was given the award (Andre Dawson also won the award for the last place Chicago Cubs). Although no sports have been excluded from the programme since the 1920s, the IOC has indicated it may do so after the 2008 Games if sports no longer fit in the programme. On November 17, 2003, Rodriguez won his first American League Most Valuable Player award. The growth of the Olympics also means that some less popular (modern pentathlon) or expensive (white water canoeing) sports have to fear for their place on the Olympic programme. He has been married to the former Cynthia Scurtis since November 2, 2002: the couple's first child, Natasha Alexander, was born on November 18, 2004. Examples of such sports include snowboarding and beach volleyball. In 2003 he became the youngest player in major league history to reach 300 home runs, and, on June 8, 2005, he became the first to to hit 400 home runs before the age of 30.

In recent years, the IOC has added several new sports to the programme to attract attention from young spectators. Rodriguez began his career as a shortstop, but switched positions to third base upon joining the Yankees. In addition, figure skating and ice hockey have also been contested as part of the Summer Games before introduction of separate Winter Olympics. Starting his major league career with the Seattle Mariners, he signed an unprecedented free-agent deal with the Texas Rangers, before being traded to the New York Yankees. Of these, cross country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating have featured on the programme at all Winter Olympics. Alexander Emanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975 in New York City), nicknamed A-Rod, is widely regarded as one of the best players in Major League Baseball today and at a young age is already being talked about among the all-time greats. At the most recent Winter Olympics, 7 sports were conducted, or 15 if one splits up sports such as skiing and skating.

If the 1896 rowing events had not been cancelled due to bad weather, they would have been included in this list as well. 9 sports were on the original Olympic programme in 1896: athletics (track and field), cycling, fencing, gymnastics, weightlifting, shooting, swimming, and wrestling. If one splits up sports such as aquatics, there were 37 different sports. At the 2004 Olympics, events were held in 28 sports, per the IOC count.

In detail: Olympic sports. Afterwards the Olympic Anthem is played while the Olympic Flag is lowered, and the Olympic Flame is then extinguished. A fringed Olympic Flag is presented to the mayor of the host city of the next Olympic Games. The host city of the next Olympic Games is then introduced; traditionally three flags are raised - the flag of Greece, the flag of the host nation of the current Games, and the flag of the host nation of the next Games.

The IOC president then gives a speech, which nowadays include giving a verdict on the success of the Games, presenting the Olympic Order award to the organizers of the Games, and declaring the Games closed. The athletes again march into the stadium, but they march in random order, not divided by country, symbolizing the unity of all participants at the end of the Games. The closing ceremonies have, since the 1956 Summer Olympics, become less structured than the opening ceremonies. Apart from these traditional elements, the host nation ordinarily presents artistic displays of dance and theatre representative of that country.

(The Olympic Flame has been lit since the 1928 Summer Olympics, but the torch relay didn't start until the 1936 Summer Olympics.) The lighting of the Olympic Flame is followed by the release of doves, symbolising peace; this was first done at the post–World War I 1920 Summer Olympics and discontinued after several doves were burned alive in the Olympic Flame during the 1988 Summer Olympics opening. The last carrier of the torch, often a well-known athlete from the host nation, then lights the fire in the stadium's cauldron. Finally, the penultimate runner in the Olympic Flame relay brings a torch into the stadium, passing the flame to the last carrier. Then, the flag bearers of all countries circle around a rostrum, where one athlete (since the 1920 Summer Olympics) and one referee (since the 1972 Summer Olympics) speak the Olympic Oath, declaring they will compete and judge according to the rules.

Next, the Olympic Anthem is played, and the Olympic Flag rises in the stadium. After all nations have entered, the president of the host country's Olympic Organizing Committee makes a speech, followed by the IOC president, who at the end of his speech, introduces the organizing country's head of state, who in turn formally opens the Olympics. (Exceptionally, in 2004 when the Games were held in Greece, Greece marched last as host nation rather than first, although the Flag of Greece was carried in first.) Between these two, all other participating nations march in alphabetical order of the dominant language of the host country, or in English alphabetical order if the host country does not write its dominant language using an alphabet. Traditionally (starting at the 1928 Summer Olympics) Greece marches first, because of their historical status as the origin of the Olympics, while the host nation marches last.

One honoured athlete, typically a top competitor, from each country carries the flag of his or her nation leading the entourage of other athletes from that country. The traditional part of the ceremonies starts with a parade of nations, during which most participating athletes march into the stadium country by country. The ceremonies typically start with the performing of the host country's national anthem. Various traditional elements frame the opening ceremonies of a celebration of the Olympic Games.

Though torches have played a part historically, the relay was introduced in 1936. There it plays an important role in the opening ceremonies. The Olympic Flame is lit in Olympia and brought to the host city by runners carrying the torch in relay. The official Olympic Motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius", a Latin phrase meaning "Swifter, Higher, Stronger". Coubertin's ideals are probably best illustrated by the Olympic Creed:.

It is hoisted at each celebration of the Games. The flag was adopted in 1914, but the first Games it flew at was Antwerp, 1920. These colours, white (for the field), red, blue, green, yellow, and black were chosen such that each nation had at least one of these colours in its national flag. They appear in five colours on a white field on the Olympic Flag.

These five intertwined rings represent the unity of the five continents. The best known symbol is probably that of the Olympic Rings. The Olympic movement uses many symbols, most of them representing Coubertin's ideas and ideals. In detail: Olympic symbols.

They denied the allegations. In particular Bulgaria's member Ivan Slavkov and Muttaleb Ahmad from the Olympic Council of Asia were implicated. The documentary claimed it is possible to bribe IOC members into voting for a particular candidate city. A BBC documentary aired in August 2004 entitled Panorama: "Buying the Games" investigated the taking of bribes in the bidding process for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Also, more active and former athletes were allowed in the IOC, and the membership terms have been limited. The scandal set off further reforms, changing the way in which host cities are elected to avoid further bribes. The IOC started an investigation, which led to four members resigning, and six being expelled. In 1998, it became known that several IOC members had taken bribes from the organising committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, in exchange for a vote on the city at the election of the host city.

Samaranch's ties with the former fascist government in Spain, and his long term as a president (21 years), until he was 81 years old, have also been points of critique. Under his presidency, the Olympic Movement made great progress, but has been seen as autocratic and corrupt. Especially the leadership of IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch has been strongly criticised. In the past, the IOC has often been criticised for being a monolithic organization, with several members remaining a member at old age, or even until their deaths.

More broadly speaking, the term Olympic Movement is sometimes also meant to include everybody and everything involved in the Olympics, such as national sport governing bodies, athletes, media and sponsors of the Olympic Games. OCOGs are dissolved after the celebration of the Games, when all subsequent paperwork has been done. At present 202 NOCs and 35 IFs are part of the Olympic Movement. Three groups of organisations operate on a more specialised level:.

It can be seen as the government of the Olympics, as it takes care of the daily problems and takes all important decisions, such as the host city of the Games and the programme of the Olympics. At the heart of the Olympic Movement is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), currently headed by Jacques Rogge. The rules and guidelines by which these organisations operate are outlined in the Olympic Charter. Together they form the Olympic Movement.

A number of organisations are involved in organising the Olympic Games. During the 2004 Summer Games at Athens, Greece, judoka Arash Miresmaeili intentionally overate, exceeding the weight-limit and forfeiting his match against Israeli Ehud Vaks; the first time this had happened at the Olympics. Iran's general sporting boycott of Israel is manifest not in explicit refusal to compete (which would attract sanctions) but in withdrawals due to "injuries" and similar reasons. Three other Communist nations (Cuba, Ethiopia and Nicaragua) stayed away in solidarity, though it was not officially announced as a boycott so as to avoid IOC censure.

In 1988, North Korea boycotted the Seoul Olympics to protest at not being made co-host with South Korea. The Soviet Union and 14 of its Eastern Bloc partners countered by skipping the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, arguing the safety of their athletes could not be guaranteed there. The United States and 64 other Western nations refused to compete at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, for reason of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but 16 other Western nations competed at the Moscow Olympics. In 1980 and 1984 the cold war opponents boycotted each other's games.

Taiwan refused and did not participate as a result. Also in 1976, Canada told the team from Taiwan that it could not compete at the Montreal Summer Olympics under the name 'Republic of China', despite a compromise that would have allowed Taiwan to use the ROC flag and anthem. 22 countries (Guyana was the only non-african nation) boycotted the Montreal Olympics, because New-Zealand wasn´t banned. A lot of sympathy was felt for the athletes forced by their governments to leave the Olympic Village; there was little sympathy outside Africa for the governments' attitude.

The countries withdrew their teams after the games had started; some African athletes had already competed. The IOC conceded in the first 2 cases, but refused in 1976 because the boycott was prompted by a New Zealand rugby union tour to South Africa, and rugby was not an Olympic sport. In 1968, 1972, and 1976, a large number of African countries threatened the IOC with a boycott, to force them to ban respectively South Africa, Rhodesia, and New Zealand. In 1956 the Games were boycotted by the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, because of the withdrawal of the Hungarian Uprising by the Warsaw Pact - furthermore the Melbourne Games were boycotted by Cambodia, Egypt, Iraq and the Lebanon, because of the Suez Crisis.

. The IOC declared participants in GANEFO personae non gratae for the Olympic Games. In 1963, various newly-independent nations set up a challenge to the IOC called GANEFO (Games of the New Emerging Forces), which openly espoused politics in sport. The USOC opted for the former.

As a result, the IOC told the USOC to either send the two athletes home, or to withdraw the complete track and field team. Two African American track-and-field athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, performed the Black Power salute on the victory stand of the 200-meter track and field race. A political incident on a smaller scale occurred at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Politics also interfered with the Olympics on several other occasions, the most well-known of which was the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin; the games were used as propaganda by the German Nazis.

Furthermore a bomb exploded in the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, USA, during the Summer Olympics in 1996, two persons died and several were injured. This event is known today as the Munich Massacre. A failed liberation attempt led to the deaths of all of the abducted athletes, along with five of the terrorists and a policeman. In 1972, when the Summer Games were held in Munich, West Germany, eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists.

In fact, three Olympiads had to pass without Olympics because of war — due to World War I the 1916 Games were cancelled, and because of World War II the games of 1940 and 1944 were also skipped. Despite what Coubertin had hoped for, the Olympics did not stop wars from happening. Also, since 1980, Taiwan has competed under the name "Chinese Taipei", and under a flag specially prepared by the IOC (prior to that year the People's Republic of China refused to participate in the Games because Taiwan had been competing under the name "Republic of China"). Examples of this include territories such as Puerto Rico, Bermuda, and Hong Kong, all of which compete as sovereign nations despite the fact that politically they are considered part of another country and their residents do not carry citizenship from that nation.

As a result, many colonies and dependencies are permitted to host their own Olympic teams and atheletes even if such competitors hold the same citizenship as another member nation. This is because the International Olympic Committee allows nations to compete which do not meet the strict requirements for political sovereignty that many other international organizations demand. This is noticeably higher number than the number of countries recognized by the United Nations, which is only 192. Over 200 countries currently participate in the Olympics.

Although allowing professional athletes and attracting sponsorships from major international companies solved financial problems in the 1980s, the large number of athletes, media and spectators makes it difficult and expensive for host cities to organize the Olympics. The growth of the Olympics is the largest problem the Olympics face today. In 2000, an estimated 3.8 billion viewers watched the Olympics on television. With over 16,000 broadcasters and journalists present in Sydney, the Olympics are one of the largest media events, together with the Football World Cup.

The number of competitors at the Winter Olympics is much smaller than at the summer edition; 2,400 athletes competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 78 events. From the 245 participants from 15 nations in 1896, the Games grew to more than 10,500 competitors from 200 countries at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Either way, the 1906 Games again attracted a broad international field of participants — in 1904, 80% had been American — and great public interest, thereby marking the beginning of a rise in popularity and size of the Games. Most contemporary Olympic historians, however, consider them to be official Olympic Games.

The so-called Intercalated Games (because of their "off-year" status) were held in 1906 in Athens, as the first of an alternating series of Athens-held Olympics. Although originally the IOC recognised and supported these games, they are currently not recognised by the IOC as Olympic Games, which has given rise to the explanation that they were intended to mark the 10th anniversary of the Modern Olympics. Louis (1904) were overshadowed by the world's fair exhibitions in which they were included. The celebrations in Paris (1900) and St. After the initial success, the Olympics struggled.

In detail: Summer Olympics, Winter Olympics. The IOC decided differently, however, and the second Olympic Games took place in Paris, France. The Greek officials and public were also very enthusiastic, and they even proposed to be allowed to have the monopoly on organizing the Olympics. Although the total number of athletes did not exceed 250, they had been the largest international sports event ever held.

The first modern Olympic Games were a success. To organize the Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was established, with the Greek Demetrius Vikelas as its first president. On the last day of the congress, it had been decided that the first modern Olympic Games would take place in 1896 in Athens, in the country of their birth. In a congress at the Sorbonne University, in Paris, held from June 16 to June 23, 1894 he presented his ideas to an international audience.

In his eyes, the recovery of the Olympic Games would achieve both of these goals. In 1890 he attended the Wenlock Olympian Society. Coubertin also thought of a way to bring nations closer together, to have the youth of the world compete in sports, rather than fight in war. He thought the reason was that the French had not received proper physical education, and sought to improve this. At the same time, Pierre, Baron de Coubertin, founder of modern Olympics, searched for a reason for the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871).

Over the next few centuries, similar events were organized in France and Greece, but these were all small-scale and certainly not international. The interest in reviving the Olympics grew when the ruins of ancient Olympia were uncovered by German archaeologists in the mid-19th century. Already in the 17th century a sports festival named after the Olympic Games was held in England. The Olympic Games did not die in 393. During competition for some of the events, many of the participants would use oils to keep their skin smooth, as well as provide an appealing luster to anyone who saw them.

Upon winning the games, the victor would get not only the prestige of being in first place but also a crown of olive leaves. Performers were usually naked, not only as the weather was appropriate but also as the festival was meant to be, in part, a celebration of the achievements of the human body. During the ancient times normally only young men competed. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the Olympic Games were seen as a "pagan" festival threatening Christian hegemony, and in 393 the emperor Theodosius outlawed the Olympics, ending a thousand year period of Olympic Games.

The Games gradually lost in importance as the Romans gained power in Greece. The most famous Olympic athlete lived in these times: The sixth century BC wrestler Milo of Croton is the only athlete in history to win a victory in six Olympics. The Greeks used Olympiads as one of their methods to count years. The Games were held every four years, and the period between two celebrations became known as an Olympiad.

The number of events increased to twenty, and the celebration was spread over several days. Winners of the events were broadly admired and were immortalised in poems and statues. The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance, contests alternating with sacrifices and ceremonies honouring both Zeus (whose colossal statue stood at Olympia), and Pelops, divine hero and mythical king of Olympia famous for his legendary chariot race, in whose honor the games were held. From that moment on, the Games slowly became more important throughout ancient Greece, reaching their zenith in the sixth and fifth centuries BC. The Games were then mostly a local affair, and only one event was contested, the stadion race.

The first recorded celebration of the Games in Olympia was in 776 BC, although this was certainly not the first time they were held. One of these legends associates the first Games with the ancient Greek concept of εκεχειρία (ekecheiria) or Olympic Truce. The origin of the ancient Olympic Games has been lost, although there are many legends surrounding its origins. In detail: Ancient Olympic Games.

Originally these were held in the same year as the Summer Olympics, but starting with 1994 the Winter Games are in between, two years after the Games of the Olympiad. A special edition for winter sports, the Olympic Winter Games, was established in 1924. In 2004, the Olympics returned to their ancient home in Greece for the XXVIII Olympiad. The Games of the Olympiad, better known as the Summer Olympics, have been held every fourth year since 1896, with the exception of the years during the World Wars.

Originally held in ancient Greece, they were revived by a French nobleman, Pierre Frèdy, Baron de Coubertin in the late 19th century. The Olympic Games , or Olympics, is an international multi-sport event taking place every fourth year. ISBN 1-56171-199-3. Books.

New Tork: S.P.I. Dishonored Games: Corruption, Money, and Greed at the Olympics. Simson, Vyv & Jennings, Andrew (1992). The Golden Book of the Olympic Games. Milan, Italy: Vallardi & Associati. ISBN 8-88520-235-7.

Kamper, Erich & Mallon, Bill (1992). ISBN 1-58567-195-9. New York: Overlook Press. The complete book of the Winter Olympics – Salt Lake City 2002.

Wallechinsky, David (2002). ISBN 1-58567-033-2. New York: Overlook Press. The complete book of the Summer Olympics – Sydney 2000 edition.

Wallechinsky, David (2000). Lanham: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-81084-054-5. Historical dictionary of the Olympic movement. Buchanan, Ian & Mallon, Bill (2001).

Olympic Stadium. Olympic mascot. Olympic Museum. Art competitions at the Olympic Games.

Paralympic Games. Deaflympic Games. International Society of Olympic Historians. Ancient Olympic Games.

Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs) which take care of the organisation of a specific celebration of the Olympics. USOC, the NOC of the United States). National Olympic Committees (NOCs), which regulates the Olympic Movement within one country (e.g. FIFA, the IF for football (soccer)).

International Federations (IFs), the governing bodies of a sport (e.g.